QualityBeirut slaughterhouse beyond repair

fleischwirtschaft.com — LEBANON, Beirut Beirut's notorious government-run slaughterhouse will not meet required health standards even after its renovations are completed, necessitating the construction of a new facility, Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan told a delegation from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) who visited him.

Stressing that his ministry supports the creation of a new abattoir, he said: "We now need to look for a plot of land on which we can build the new facility, or stay in the same location, or contract private slaughterhouses, or establish smaller abattoirs in (the various) regions."

Hajj Hasan said Beirut Municipality and the capital's governor are responsible for selecting the appropriate land, stressing that his ministry's role is strictly technical and limited to licensing the potential facility.

FAO dispatched earlier this week a three-man delegation with a mission to inspect the slaughterhouse and propose reforms.

In November, Beirut Governor Ziad Chebib ordered it shut for renovations after inspectors revealed horrid safety conditions. The slaughterhouse controversy arose after a food scandal emerged in November, with Health Minister Wael Abu Faour announcing the names of restaurants across Lebanon selling contaminated meat, much of it sourced from the Beirut slaughterhouse.